And I don’t agree that other writers will view you as competition. I’ve met several writers who are happy to talk to me — provided I do my own research first.

Read Bob Bly’s and Peter Bowerman’s books on freelancing. They’ll be invaluable to you.

I started freelancing when I got pregnant, to supplement our income. I’m hoping to build up enough work and I think I’m almost there. Best of luck to you!

It’ll be difficult at first (and at times later on), but it’ll be great working for your self. If there’s any advice I could give, it’s to never forget to unwind and have fun every once in a while. I went on for seven months without a single day off (I worked even on weekends) before, and my mind and body gave out.

A freelancing schedule is quite flexible … but you do work by yourself alot … which can be a potential downside. (well for me anyways!)

All the best!

Way to go! Sounds like he’s a little paranoid, probably not trusting of you as an employee either. Sometimes that lost or quit job is the best thing to happen. Your mind frees up because you don’t have to protect yourself and feel so guarded.

It’s not easy to make changes, so congrats and best wishes to all who have made the plunge.

As I am a nurse and I write about health and medicine he demanded to see any work I intended to have published (as in in the magazines I write for), as he wanted to scrutinize the content to ensure it did not reflect badly on the company….. what a cheek!

I take my writing seriously and pride myself on my work and to be subjected to insulting connotations by someone who is neither medically trained nor a writer was quite frankly the icing on the cake for me!

I have built up a great client base for my writing projects and felt that in actual fact my boss kinda did me a favor by giving me the shove I needed!

It’s all about marketing yourself. (You can write, that’s not a problem, it’s the selling your work that is the issue right?)

So tomorrow, do your homework. Come up with 3 places you’d like to write for. Write 3 pitches then send the letters (emails) out. The next day, do it again and do it again. (Keep track of what you’re sending out). You’ll get no’s, no answers, and questions but eventually you’ll start getting yeses. Do the work, but don’t stop pitching. When the work load becomes too much, then set aside 1 day to mail out pitches, but keep doing it. It’s all about stuffing the pipeline.

If you’re a decent writer and you make good on your deadlines, within six months you’ll have more work than you can handle.

At the beginning, the dollars may not be that good, but once you’ve got the ball rolling you start trading up. Give up the 10 dollar job for 20 job, for the 100 job.

The big point here is don’t rely on answering job ads – for everyone there are way too many people responding. Make opportunities for yourself but pitching to the places you want to write for.

Good luck

I quit my full-time job about a month ago because my husband and I are planning a move overseas. I wasn’t going to do anything with my newly found free time, except relax. It’s just that I couldn’t relax – I needed to stay creative and busy. So I started freelancing.

It’s been almost a month, and I’ve landed a few projects. I put my portfolio on Elance, Guru, iFreelance, GetAFreelancer, and WriterLance, plus I tapped into my network of former co-workers and business acquaintances. It’s not anywhere near what I was making full-time; but I reckon I can keep building up my clientele to where I’m making that much in six months.

I’m with you – we can at least give it the old college try. And that’s what counts!

That should read freelanced, not freelanceed.